Seat with air vent

ABSTRACT

It is an object to provide a seat of which a seating comfort can be improved. The seat includes a seat cushion pad having an air passage formed inside and an air vent formed at an upper surface thereof, and is configured to allow air in the air passage to blow out through the air vent, wherein the seat cushion pad includes a pad body and a cover member which is disposed over the pad body to form the air passage between the pad body and the cover member and in which the air vent is formed, and a front end portion of the cover member extends downward over a front end portion of the pad body.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a seat configured to have a capabilityof producing a stream of air forced out from a seat cushion.

BACKGROUND ART

A seat having an air-conditioning capability is hitherto known in theart wherein air can be caused to blow from its seat cushion against anoccupant seated thereon. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses avehicle seat configured to comprise a seat cushion pad divided in two,upper and lower pads, of which the upper pad having an air vent forletting air out is stacked over the lower pad whereby an air passage forintroducing air from a blower is formed between the upper and lowerpads.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Document 1: JP 2004-215810 A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Such a conventional configuration allows deformation in the pads to becaused when a person sits down on the seat cushion, and would possiblycause the front end portion of the upper pad to be lifted, making someunevenness at and around the border between the front end portions ofthe upper and lower pads. This unevenness, which may touch the legs andthe like, would be detrimental to seating comfort.

Against this backdrop, the present invention has been made, and anobject pursued herein is to provide a seat in which the seating comfortcan be improved.

Moreover, in the present invention, another object expected to beachieved is to minimize an undesirable shift of a cover member relativeto a pad body.

Furthermore, in the present invention, yet another object expected to beachieved is to retain a sufficient cross-sectional area of the airpassage.

The present invention proposed in an attempt to achieve any of theaforementioned objects provides a seat comprising a seat cushion padhaving an air passage formed inside and an air vent formed at an uppersurface thereof, the seat being configured to allow air in the airpassage to blow out through the air vent, the seat cushion pad includinga pad body and a cover member, the cover member being disposed over thepad body to form the air passage between the pad body and the covermember, the air vent being formed in the cover member, wherein the covermember includes a front end portion extending downward over a front endportion of the pad body.

With this configuration, even if the front end portion of the covermember is lifted when an occupant sits on the seat, no unevenness ismade at the front end portion of the seat cushion pad, and thus theseating comfort can be improved.

The seat as described above may be configured such that one of an uppersurface of the pad body and a lower surface of the cover member has aprotrusion formed thereon, and the other of the upper surface of the padbody and the lower surface of the cover member has a locating depressionformed therein to be fitted on the protrusion.

With this feature, an undesirable shift of the cover member relative tothe pad body can be reduced.

The above-described seat may be configured such that the protrusion isformed on the upper surface of the pad body and the locating depressionis formed in the lower surface of the cover member, wherein lateralwidths of the protrusion and the depression are greater on front sidesthereof than on rear sides thereof.

With this configuration, an undesirable frontward shift of the covermember relative to the pad body can be effectively reduced.

Alternatively, the above-described seat may be configured such that theprotrusion is formed on the lower surface of the cover member and thelocating depression is formed in the upper surface of the pad body,wherein lateral widths of the protrusion and the locating depression aregreater on rear sides thereof than on front sides thereof.

With this configuration as well, the undesirable frontward shift of thecover member relative to the pad body can be effectively reduced.

The above-described seat may be configured such that the protrusion andthe locating depression are formed at a laterally central portion of afront region of the seat cushion pad.

With this configuration, the portion at which the protrusion and thedepression are formed is rendered unlikely to receive a load from rightabove, and thus excessive deformation in the protrusion and the locatingdepression can be suppressed. This makes it possible to keep theengagement of the protrusion with the locating depression in a goodstate, thus serving to more effectively reduce the undesirable shift ofthe cover member relative to the pad body.

The above-described seat may be configured such that the pad body andthe cover member have air-passage depressions respectively that areopposite to each other to form the air passage.

With this configuration, it is ensured that the air passage can beformed which has a sufficiently large cross-sectional area, morereliably in comparison with an alternative configuration in which noair-passage depression is formed in one of the pad body and the covermember.

In the above-described seat, the pad body may have an upper surface inwhich a depression is formed, and the cover member may include a coverbody and an extensional marginal portion, the cover body beingengageable with the depression to form the air passage between the coverbody and the pad body, the extensional marginal portion extending fromat least one side of a periphery of the cover body horizontally outwardbeyond an edge of the depression.

With this configuration, even when a gap is formed between the covermember and the pad body, this gap can be sealed due to the contact ofthe extensional marginal portion with the pad body, so that an airleakage from the air passage can be reduced. Moreover, the contact areaof the pad body and the cover member can be made larger, and thus thegap between the pad body and the cover member becomes unlikely to beformed; this also serves to reduce an air leakage from the air passage.

The above-described seat may be configured to further comprise an outercovering material with which the seat cushion pad is covered, whereinthe pad body includes an outer covering attachment member providedhorizontally outward of the depression, such that an engageable portionprovided in the outer covering material is engageable with the outercovering attachment member, and wherein the extensional marginal portionis configured to extend near the outer covering attachment member so asto form part of an opening for allowing the engageable portion to beengaged with the outer covering attachment member.

With this configuration, the extensional marginal portion can be heldrelatively firmly by the outer covering material attached to the outercovering attachment member. Thus, the gap between the pad body and thecover member becomes unlikely to be formed; this also serves to reducean air leakage from the air passage.

The above-described seat may be configured such that the extensionalmarginal portion is configured to extend from left and right sides ofthe periphery of the cover body.

With this configuration, even if the left and right extensional marginalportions are lifted or otherwise deformed when an occupant sits on theseat, such occurs in a position remote from the occupant, and thus thepotential deterioration of the seating comfort can be suppressed.

The above-described seat may be configured such that the pad bodyincludes a bulging portion provided at each of left and right sides ofthe cover member, the bulging portion bulging upward beyond the covermember, wherein the extensional marginal portion is configured to extendup to a position adjacent to the bulging portion.

With this configuration, even if the left and right extensional marginalportions are lifted or otherwise deformed when an occupant sits on theseat, such will not cause the occupant discomfort, and thus the seatingcomfort can be improved.

In the above-described seat, the extensional marginal portion may beconfigured to extend from a front side of the periphery of the coverbody up to or farther beyond the front end portion of the pad body.

With this configuration, no unevenness will result at the front portionof the upper surface of the seat cushion pad when an occupant sits onthe seat because the border between the front-side extensional marginalportion and the pad body is not present on the upper surface of the seatcushion pad. Therefore, the potential deterioration of the seatingcomfort can be suppressed.

The above-described seat may be configured such that the pad body andthe cover member have air-passage depressions respectively that areopposite to each other to form the air passage.

With this configuration, it is ensured that the air passage can beformed which has a sufficiently large cross-sectional area, morereliably in comparison with an alternative configuration in which noair-passage depression is formed in one of the pad body and the covermember.

The above-described seat may be configured such that the pad bodyincludes a first body portion and a second body portion, wherein thesecond body portion is provided between the first body portion and thecover member, and is laid over an upper surface of the first bodyportion, and has a front end portion extending downward.

With this configuration, where the pad body has two-part constructioncomprising the first body portion and the second body portion, as well,even if the front end portion of the second body portion is lifted whenan occupant sits on the seat, no unevenness is made in the front portionof the upper surface of the seat cushion pad, and thus the seatingcomfort can be improved.

The above-described seat may be configured such that the first bodyportion includes a front end portion that includes a stepped portionthat is lower in level on a front side thereof, wherein at least one ofthe front end portion of the second body portion and a front end portionof the cover member is in contact with an upward-facing surface that isdisposed frontward of the stepped portion of the first body portion.

With this configuration, an undesirable downward shift of the secondbody portion or the cover member can be effectively reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a car seat as an example of a seataccording to a practicable embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a seat cushion pad.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a pad body.

FIG. 4 is a cutaway perspective view of a cover member as seen frombelow.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a seat cushion as corresponding to thesection X-X shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a seat cushion pad as corresponding to thesection Y-Y shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 includes a diagram (a) illustrating an operation and anadvantageous effect of an extensional marginal portion of the car seataccording to the practicable embodiment, and a diagram (b) illustratinga comparative example.

FIG. 8 is diagram illustrating an operation and an advantageous effectof a locating protrusion and a locating depression of the car seataccording to the practicable embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a cutaway perspective view of a pad body, and a cover memberas seen from below, according to a modified example.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an operation and an advantageouseffect of a locating protrusion and a locating depression of the carseat according to the modified example.

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of a seat cushion pad accordingto a second modified example.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the seat cushion pad according to thesecond modified example, taken along a vertical plane extending in alateral (left-right) direction.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the seat cushion pad according to thesecond modified example, taken along a vertical plane extending in afront-rear direction.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described indetail with reference made to the drawings where appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 1, a seat according to the present embodiment isconfigured as a car seat S for use in a driver's seat or a passengerseat of an automobile, or the like, and mainly includes a seat cushionS1 allowing an occupant to be seated thereon, a seat back S2 configuredto support an upper body of the occupant, and a headrest S3 allowing thehead of the occupant to be supported thereon.

The seat cushion S1 mainly includes a metal frame (not shown), a seatcushion pad 1 made of a cushiony material such as urethane foam, and anouter covering material 2 made of synthetic leather, fabric or the like,wherein the seat cushion pad 1 is put over the frame and thenupholstered with the outer covering material 2 put over the seat cushionpad 1.

The seat cushion pad 1, of which a detailed configuration will bedescribed later, though, includes an air passage 1A formed inside (seeFIG. 5) and a plurality of air vents 1B formed at an upper surfacethereof, and is configured to allow air supplied into the air passage 1Afrom a blower or the like (not shown) to blow out through the air vents1B against the occupant as indicated by arrows in FIG. 1. Although notillustrated, in cases where the outer covering material 2 is made ofless-breathable material, openings for allowing air to pass therethroughare formed in those positions of the outer covering material 2 whichcorrespond to the positions of the air vents 1B.

As shown in FIG. 2, the seat cushion pad 1 mainly includes a pad body 10with which the frame of the seat cushion S1 is covered, and a covermember 20 having an upper surface in which the plurality of air vents 1Bare formed. It is to be understood that the materials for the pad body10 and the cover member 20 may be the same or different from each other.

In a front region of a laterally central portion of the upper surface ofthe pad body 10, an engageable depression 10A is formed which isconfigured to have a shape recessed down with respect to a laterallycentral rear portion 10B (that is a rear region of the laterally centralportion) such that the cover member 20 is engageable with the engageabledepression 10A. As shown in FIG. 3, the engageable depression 10Acomprises a first depression 11 as an example of a depression, and asecond depression 12 which is recessed but down to a level that is onestep higher than that of a bottom 11A of the first depression 11 andformed around the first depression 11. Dominant structures formed in thefirst depression 11 include a body-side air-passage depression 15recessed deeper than the bottom 11A and a locating protrusion 16 (as aprotrusion in the context of the present invention) protruding upwardfrom the bottom 11A.

The body-side air-passage depression 15 is a groove that is disposedopposite a cover-side air-passage depression 25 (see FIG. 5) of thecover member 20, which will be described later, to define the airpassage 1A, and is formed to have a substantially U shape as in a planview. A through hole 15A piercing through the pad body 10 in theupward-downward direction is formed at or around the laterally centralposition of this body-side air-passage depression 15. The through hole15A is a hole for allowing air to be introduced into the air passage 1A.

The locating protrusion 16 is provided at or around a laterally centralportion of a front region of the bottom 11A. This locating protrusion 16is formed to have a substantially trapezoidal shape (in a plan view)with side surfaces tapered such that the lateral width of the locatingprotrusion 16 increases to be greater on its front side than on its rearside.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the pad body 10 includes a bulging portion10S provided at each of left and right sides of the engageabledepression 10A (cover member 20) and the central rear portion 10B whichbulging portion 10S is configured to bulge upward beyond the uppersurfaces of the cover member 20 and the central rear portion 10B. Anouter covering attachment wire 50 as an example of an outer coveringattachment member with which an engageable portion 2H shaped like a hookprovided in the outer covering material 2 is engageable is provided ateach of the left and right end portions of the pad body 10. To be morespecific, the outer covering attachment wire 50 is disposed to extend inthe front-rear direction and embedded within the pad body 10 in aposition horizontally (laterally) outward of the first depression 11 ator near the border between the bulging portion 10S and the engageabledepression 10A. This outer covering attachment wire 50 is partiallyexposed through a hole 10C provided in the pad body 10, and theengageable portion 2H of the outer covering material 2 is engaged withthis exposed portion, so that the outer covering material 2 is fastenedto the pad body 10 (the seat cushion pad 1).

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the cover member 20 is a member that is notadhered to but engaged with the engageable depression 10A of the padbody 10, and thus disposed on the pad body 10 so that the air passage 1Ais formed between the cover member 20 and the pad body 10; the covermember 20 mainly includes a cover body 21, an extensional marginalportion 22, and a front end portion 23 (see FIG. 6). As shown in FIG. 6,an upper surface of the cover member 20 engaged with the engageabledepression 10A is substantially flush with an upper surface of thecentral rear portion 10B of the pad body 10. In FIG. 4, which is aperspective view of the cover member 20 as viewed from below, the covermember 20 is shown as a cutaway in which the front end portion 23 isremoved for convenience of clear illustration of a cover-sideair-passage depression 25 and a locating depression 26 which will bedescribed later.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the cover body 21 has a lower portion mainlyengaged with the first depression 11 of the pad body 10 to form the airpassage 1A between the cover body 21 and the pad body 10. A lowersurface of the cover body 21 is provided with the cover-side air-passagedepression 25 and the locating depression 26.

The cover-side air-passage depression 25 is a groove that is disposedopposite the body-side air-passage depression 15 when the cover member20 is engaged with the engageable depression 10A of the pad body 10, todefine the air passage 1A, and is so formed as to have a substantially Ushape in a plan view similar to the shape of the body-side air-passagedepression 15. At a bottom of the cover-side air-passage depression 25,a plurality of communication holes 25A are formed by means of which thecover-side air-passage depression 25 communicates with the air vents 1B.Air introduced into the air passage 1A passes through the communicationholes 25A and let out through the air vents 1B.

The locating depression 26 is a depression with which a locatingprotrusion 16 of the pad body 10 is engageable, and is disposed at oraround a laterally central portion of a front region of the lowersurface of the cover body 21. This locating depression 26 is formed tohave a substantially trapezoidal shape (in a plan view), similar to theshape of the locating protrusion 16, such that the lateral width of thelocating depression 26 is greater on a front side thereof than on a rearside thereof.

As shown in FIG. 4, the extensional marginal portion 22 is a portionextending protrusively from an upper portion of each side of a peripheryof the cover body 21 horizontally outward beyond an edge of the firstdepression 11 (outward in the front and rear directions as well as inthe left and right directions). This extensional marginal portion 22includes a left-side marginal portion 22L and a right-side marginalportion 22R which extend from left and right sides, respectively, of theperiphery of the cover body 21, a front-side marginal portion 22F whichextends from a front side of the periphery of the cover body 21, and arear-side marginal portion 22B which extends from a rear side of theperiphery of the cover body 21, wherein the front-side marginal portion22F, the left-side marginal portion 22L, the rear-side marginal portion22B and the right-side marginal portion 22R are so formed continuouslyin a substantially flange-like shape as to surround the cover member 21.When the cover member 20 is engaged with the engageable depression 10Aof the pad body 10, the extensional marginal portion 22 is placed withinthe second depression 12 of the pad body 10.

As shown in FIG. 5, the left-side marginal portion 22L and theright-side marginal portion 22R are configured to extend up to positionsadjacent to the bulging portions 10S of the pad body 10, respectively.To be more specific, the left-side marginal portion 22L and theright-side marginal portion 22R are each configured to extend up to aposition near the outer covering attachment wire 50, and its end faceforms a part of a wall of a tuck-in groove 1C as an example of anopening for allowing the outer covering material 2 to be tucked thereinbetween the end face and the pad body 10 or allowing the engageableportion 2H of the outer covering material 2 to be engaged on the outercovering attachment wire 50. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 6, thefront-side marginal portion 22F is configured to extend frontwardlybeyond the front end portion 10F of the pad body 10.

The front end portion 23 is a portion extending continuously from thefront-side marginal portion 22F downward along the front end portion 10Fof the pad body 10. In other words, the front end portion 23 extendsdownward to cover the front end portion 10F of the pad body 10 from thefront side.

Next, operations and advantageous effects of the car seat S configuredas described above will be discussed.

A comparative example illustrated in FIG. 7 (b) as a reference shows aseat cushion S101 configured such that a seat cushion pad 101 is coveredwith an outer covering material 102. The seat cushion pad 101 of theseat cushion S101 includes a pad body 110 and a cover member 120 shapedlike a plate and fitted in a depression 110A formed in an upper surfaceof the pad body 110. An air passage 101A is formed between the pad body110 and the cover member 120.

In the comparative example of FIG. 7 (b), when an occupant sits on theseat cushion S101, the laterally central portion of the cover member 120subsides and the cover member 120 deforms into a bowlike shape as viewedfrom the front side, with the result that its peripheral portion tendsto lift from the pad body 110. Accordingly, some unevenness may be madebetween the end portion of the cover member 120 and the pad body 110,and if such unevenness happens to touch the occupant through the outercovering material 102, the seating comfort will be impaired.Furthermore, a gap may be made between the end portion of the covermember 120 and the pad body 110, and air in the air passage 101A wouldpossibly leak from this gap.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment as illustrated in FIGS. 6and 7 (a), in which the cover member 20 includes the extensionalmarginal portion 22 extending from the periphery of the cover body 21,even if any gap would be made between the end portion of the cover body21 and the pad body 10, contact established between the extensionalmarginal portion 22 and the pad body 10 can seal the gap, and thus canreduce the possibility of leakage of air from the air passage 1A.Moreover, provision of the extensional marginal portion 22 extendingfrom the periphery of the cover member 21 makes it possible to increasea contact area between the pad body 10 and the cover member 20, and thusmakes such a gap unlikely to be made between the pad body 10 and thecover member 20; in this respect, as well, the possibility of leakage ofair from the air passage 1A can be minimized.

Of the extensional marginal portion 22, each of the left-side marginalportion 22L and the right-side marginal portion extends up to a positionnear the outer covering attachment wire 50 and constitutes a part of thetuck-in groove 1C for allowing the outer covering material 2 to beengaged therewith, and is thus held relatively firmly by the outercovering material 2 attached to the outer covering attachment wire 50.This makes any gap more unlikely to be made between the pad body 10 andthe cover member 20, and can further reduce the possibility of leakageof air from the air passage 1A.

In view of the seating comfort, the front-side marginal portion 22F ofthe extensional marginal portion 22 is configured as shown in FIG. 6 toextend up to the front end portion 10F of the pad body 10; thus, theborder between the front-side marginal portion 22F and the pad body 10does not exist on the upper surface of the seat cushion pad 1.Accordingly, even if the front-side marginal portion 22F is lifted whenan occupant sits on the seat, no unevenness is produced on the frontregion of the upper surface of the seat cushion pad 1, and thus thepotential deterioration of the seating comfort can be suppressed.

According to the present embodiment, the front end portion 23 of thecover member 20 is configured to extend downward so as to cover thefront end portion 10F of the pad body 10, so that no unevenness is madein the front end portion of the seat cushion pad 1. Thus, the seatingcomfort can be improved.

Furthermore, since the left-side marginal portion 22L and the right-sidemarginal portion 22R of the extensional marginal portion 22 areconfigured, as shown in FIG. 7 (a), to extend from the left and rightsides of the periphery of the cover body 21 away from the occupant, evenif the left-side marginal portion 22L and the right-side marginalportion 22R are lifted when an occupant sits on the seat, such a liftwould occur in positions remote from the occupant, so that the potentialdeterioration of the seating comfort can be suppressed.

More specifically, the left-side marginal portion 22L and the right-sidemarginal portion 22R are configured to extend up to the positionsadjacent to the bulging portions 10S of the pad body 10, and thus evenif the left-side marginal portion 22L and the right-side marginalportion 22R are lifted when an occupant sits on the seat, such will notcause the occupant discomfort. Therefore, the seating comfort can beimproved. Moreover, as described above, the left-side marginal portion22L and the right-side marginal portion 22R are configured to be heldrelatively firmly by the outer covering material 2, and thus areunlikely to be lifted in the first place; thus the seating comfort canbe improved more.

In the comparative example shown in FIG. 7 (b), when an occupant sits onthe seat, the laterally central portion of the cover member 120 subsidesand the peripheral portions are pulled toward the center, and thus a gapmay be likely to be made between the end face of the cover member 120and the pad body 110. Therefore, the end portion of the cover member 120tends to lift, with the result that unevenness will be made or a gapwill be made. On the other hand, in the present embodiment shown in FIG.7 (a), the portions where the locating protrusion 16 and the locatingdepression 26 are formed, in particular, the both of the left and rightsides of those portions are configured such that no gap is likely to bemade between the end face of the cover body 21 and the pad body 10. Thisis because even if the laterally central portion of the cover member 20subsides and pulls the peripheral portion toward the center, theabutment of the side faces of the locating depression 26 with the sidefaces of the locating projection 16 serves to render the outer portions(outside the locating depression 26) of the peripheral portion of thecover member 20 unlikely to be pulled toward the center. This reducesthe possibility of lifting of the end portions of the cover member 20,and thus makes it possible to improve the seating comfort and makes itdifficult to make a gap between the end portion of the cover member 20and the pad body 10, so that the possibility of leakage of air from theair passage 1A can be reduced more effectively.

Also, in the present embodiment, since the locating protrusion 16 formedon the upper surface of the pad body 10 is fitted in the locatingdepression 26 formed on the lower surface of the cover member 20, anyundesirable shift of the cover member 20 from the pad body 10 can besuppressed even in cases where the pad body 10 and the cover member 20are not bonded to each other by adhesive or the like.

Particularly, in the present embodiment, since the locating protrusion16 and the locating depression 26 are each formed to have asubstantially trapezoidal shape (in a plan view) such that the lateralwidths thereof are greater on front sides thereof than on rear sidesthereof as shown in FIG. 8, the left and right side surfaces “engage”when the locating protrusion 16 is fitted in the locating depression 26,so that an undesirable frontward shift of the cover member 20, inparticular, relative to the pad body 10 can be suppressed effectively.

In the present embodiment, since the locating protrusion 16 and thelocating depression 26 are each disposed in a laterally central portionof the front region of the seat cushion pad 1, in other words, formed onor near the position corresponding to the position between the left andright thighs of an occupant, the portions in which the locatingprotrusion 16 and the locating depression 26 are formed are renderedunlikely to receive a load directly from above. Therefore, any largedeformation of the locating protrusion 16 and the locating depression 26can be suppressed, so that a good state of engagement of the locatingprotrusion 16 and the locating depression 26 can be maintained and theundesirable shift of the cover member 20 relative to the pad body 10 canbe suppressed more effectively.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the present embodiment, the both of the pad body10 and the cover member 20 have the air-passage depressions 15, 25 fordefining the air passage 1A; therefore, it is ensured that the airpassage 1A having a sufficiently large cross-sectional area can beformed more reliably in comparison with an alternative configuration inwhich the air-passage depression is formed only in either one.Accordingly, a sufficient space for allowing air to pass therethroughcan be made within the seat cushion pad 1 which deforms due to anoccupant sitting on the seat.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but itis to be understood that the present invention is not limited to theillustrated embodiment. In specific constructions, modifications may bemade where appropriate without departing from the gist of the presentinvention as will be described below.

In the above-described embodiment, the locating protrusion 16 is formedon the upper surface of the pad body 10 and the locating depression 26is formed on the lower surface of the cover member 20, but the presentinvention is not limited to this configuration. For example, as shown inFIG. 9, a locating depression 17 may be formed on the upper surface ofthe pad body 10 while a locating protrusion 27 may be formed on thelower surface of the cover member 20. In this configuration, they maypreferably be formed such that the lateral widths of the locatingdepression 17 and the locating protrusion 27 are greater on rear sidesthereof than on front sides thereof, as opposed to the above-describedembodiment. With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 10, the left andright side surfaces engage when the locating protrusion 27 is fitted inthe locating depression 17, so that an undesirable frontward shift ofthe cover member 20 relative to the pad body 10 can be suppressedeffectively.

The above-described embodiment or the alternative configuration shown inFIG. 9 is illustrated such that the locating protrusion 16, 27 and thelocating depression 26, 17 are provided with the left and right sidesurfaces each configured as a substantially flat inclined surface, butthe present invention is not limited thereto; for example, they may beeach configured as a stepped surface having at least one step. Theabove-described embodiment or the alternative configuration shown inFIG. 9 is illustrated such that a pair of the locating protrusion 16, 27and the locating depression 26, 17 is formed in the laterally centralportion of the front region of the seat cushion pad 1, but the presentinvention is not limited thereto. For example, the locating protrusionand the locating depression may be formed in a portion other than thelaterally central portion of the front region of the seat cushion pad 1,and/or two or more pairs thereof may be provided.

The above-described embodiment is illustrated such that the extensionalmarginal portion 22 is configured to extend from each side of theperiphery of the cover body 21 so as to surround the cover body 21, butthe present invention is not limited thereto. For example, theextensional marginal portion may be configured to extend only from theleft and right sides of the periphery of the cover body, or may beconfigured to extend only from the front side of the periphery of thecover body.

The above-described embodiment is illustrated such that the air-passagedepressions 15, 25 are provided in the both of the pad body 10 and thecover member 20 to define the air passage 1A, but the present inventionis not limited thereto. For example, the air-passage depression may beformed only in the pad body, or may be formed only in the cover member.

The above-described embodiment is illustrated such that the pad body 10is configured as one part, but the practicable configuration of the padbody may not be limited thereto. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, a padbody 200 may be configured to comprise two parts, i.e., a first bodyportion 210, and a second body portion 220 disposed between the firstbody portion 210 and the cover member 20.

To be more specific, the first body portion 210 is configured, similarto the pad body 10 illustrated in the above-described embodiment, toinclude an engageable depression 10A (having a first depression 11), acentral rear portion 10B, and a bulging portion 10S. The first bodyportion 10A has a through hole 211 formed in a rear portion of the firstdepression 11, which through hole 211 pierces in the upward-downwarddirection. A bottom surface 212 of the first depression 11 has nounevenness but the through hole 211, and is formed as a substantiallyflat surface.

The first body portion 210 includes, at a front end portion thereof, afront-side stepped portion 213, as an example of a stepped portion thatis lower in level on a front side thereof. To be more specific, thefirst body portion 210 includes a protruding portion 230 protrudingfrontward at a lower portion of the front end portion. The protrudingportion 230 is provided over a range extending from the left end to theright end of the first body portion 210. This protruding portion 230 hasa contact surface 231 facing upward provided in a position lower thanthat of the bottom surface 212 of the first depression 11. A portion ofthe first body portion 210 between the bottom surface 212 of the firstdepression 11 and the contact surface 231 provides a difference in levelwhich forms the front-side stepped portion 213.

The second body portion 220 includes a rectangular air-passage formingportion 220A and a front end portion 220B, the air-passage formingportion 220A being laid over the upper surface of the first body portion210, specifically, on the bottom surface 212 of the first depression 11,and the front end portion 220B being configured to extend from theair-passage forming portion 220A in a frontward-and-downward direction.This second body portion 220 may be made of a material that is the sameas, or different from, the material for the first body portion 210 orthe cover member 20.

The air-passage forming portion 220A has an air vent slot 221 piercingin the upward-downward direction. This air-passage forming portion 220Ais disposed over the first depression 11, to thereby form the body-sideair-passage depression 15 with the air vent slot 221 and the bottomsurface 212 of the first depression 11, as shown in FIG. 12.

Turning back to FIG. 11, the air vent slot 221 includes a first air ventslot 221A formed to have a substantially U shape in a plan view, and asecond air vent slot 221B extending from a position overlapping thethrough hole 211, of the second body portion 220 and connecting to thefirst air vent slot 221A.

As shown in FIG. 13, the front end portion 220B of the second bodyportion 220 is provided to cover a part of the front-side steppedportion 213 of the first body portion 210, and a lower end of the frontend portion 220B is in contact with the contact surface 231 of theprotruding portion 230. Moreover, a rear end portion (rear end portion222 of the air-passage forming portion 220A) of the second body portion220 is in contact with a rear-side stepped portion 214 that is a steppedportion formed between the first depression 11 and the central rearportion 10B of the first body portion 210.

As shown in FIG. 12, the cover member 20 is different from that of theabove-described embodiment in that the cover member 20 is shaped like asubstantially flat plate with its lower surface having no cover-sideair-passage depression. The lower surface of this cover member 20 incombination with the body-side air-passage depression 15 forms the airpassage 1A. The cover member 20 has a plurality of air vents 1B disposedin positions overlapping the body-side air-passage depression 15. It isto be understood that the cover member 20 may have a cover-sideair-passage depression provided at its lower surface, as in theabove-described embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 13, the front end portion 23 of the cover member 20 islaid over the front end portion 220B of the second body portion 220, andthe lower end of the front end portion 23 is in contact with the contactsurface 231 of the first body portion 210.

As described above, by providing the second body portion 220 which formsthe air passage 1A between the first body portion 210 and the covermember 20, deformation of the air passage 1A which would appear when anoccupant sits down on the car seat S can be suppressed more effectivelyin comparison with the case where the air passage 1A is formed by thebody-side air-passage depression 15 of the pad body 10 and thecover-side air-passage depression 25 of the cover member 20 as in theabove-described embodiment.

Since the front end portion 220B of the second body portion 220 isconfigured to extend downward, no unevenness is made at the frontportion of the upper surface of the pad body 10 even if the front endportion 220B of the second body portion 220 is lifted when an occupantsits on the seat, with the result that the potential deterioration ofthe seating comfort can be suppressed.

Since the front end portion 220B of the second body portion 220 is incontact with the contact surface 231 of the protruding portion 230, anyundesirable downward shift of the second body 220 can be effectivelyreduced. Moreover, since the front end portion 220B of the second bodyportion 220 is in contact with the front-side stepped portion 213 whilethe rear end portion of the second body portion 220 (the rear endportion 222 of the air-passage forming portion 220A) is in contact withthe rear-side stepped portion 214, any undesirable rearward shift of thesecond body portion 220 can be effectively reduced.

Furthermore, since, in this modified example, the front end portion 23of the cover member 20 is in contact with the contact surface 231 of theprotruding portion 230, the undesirable downward shift of the covermember 20 can be effectively reduced.

Although, in this modified example, the both of the front end portion220B of the second body portion 220 and the front end portion 23 of thecover member 20 are in contact with the contact surface 231 of theprotruding portion 230, an alternative configuration may be feasible inwhich only one of the front end portion 220B of the second body portion220 and the front end portion 23 of the cover member 20 is in contactwith the contact surface 231 of the protruding portion 230.

The above-described embodiments are illustrated as examples in which thepresent invention is applied to a seat for use in an automobile (i.e.,car seat S), but the present invention is not limited thereto, but isalso applicable to any other vehicles, such as rail cars, ships andaircrafts, etc. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to avehicle seat, but is also applicable to any seat for use in publicfacilities (e.g., movie theaters) or at home, for example.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A seat, comprising: a seat cushion padhaving an air passage formed inside and an air vent formed at an uppersurface thereof, the seat being configured to allow air to flow throughthe air passage and the air vent, wherein the seat cushion pad includesa pad body and a cover member, the pad body having an upward-facingsurface portion, the pad body including a front-side stepped portionlocated at a front end portion of the pad body, the pad body having anupward-facing contact surface that is disposed frontward of thefront-side stepped portion and lower in level than the upward-facingsurface portion of the pad body, the cover member being disposed overthe pad body to form the air passage between the pad body and the covermember, the air vent being formed in the cover member, and wherein thecover member includes a front end portion disposed to cover thefront-side stepped portion, wherein the front end portion of the covermember has a lower end in contact with the upward-facing contactsurface.
 2. The seat according to claim 1, wherein one of an uppersurface of the pad body and a lower surface of the cover member has aprotrusion formed therein, and the other of the upper surface of the padbody and the lower surface of the cover member has a locating depressionformed therein to be fitted on the protrusion.
 3. The seat according toclaim 2, wherein the protrusion is formed in the upper surface of thepad body and the locating depression is formed in the lower surface ofthe cover member, and wherein lateral widths of the protrusion and thelocating depression are greater on front sides thereof than on rearsides thereof.
 4. The seat according to claim 2, wherein the protrusionis formed in the lower surface of the cover member and the locatingdepression is formed in the upper surface of the pad body, and whereinlateral widths of the protrusion and the locating depression are greateron rear sides thereof than on front sides thereof.
 5. The seat accordingto claim 2, wherein the protrusion and the locating depression areformed at a laterally central portion of a front region of the seatcushion pad.
 6. The seat according to claim 1, wherein the pad body andthe cover member have air-passage depressions respectively that areopposite to each other to form the air passage.
 7. The seat according toclaim 1, wherein the pad body has an upper surface in which a depressionis formed, and wherein the cover member includes a cover body and anextensional marginal portion, the cover body being engageable with thedepression to form the air passage between the cover body and the padbody, the extensional marginal portion extending from at least one sideof a periphery of the cover body horizontally outward beyond an edge ofthe depression.
 8. The seat according to claim 7, comprising an outercovering material with which the seat cushion pad is covered, whereinthe pad body includes an outer covering attachment member providedhorizontally outward of the depression, such that an engageable portionprovided in the outer covering material is engageable with the outercovering attachment member, and wherein the extensional marginal portionis configured to extend near the outer covering attachment member so asto form part of an opening for allowing the engageable portion to beengaged with the outer covering attachment member.
 9. The seat accordingto claim 7, wherein the extensional marginal portion is configured toextend from left and right sides of the periphery of the cover body. 10.The seat according to claim 9, wherein the pad body includes a bulgingportion provided at each of left and right sides of the cover member,the bulging portion bulging upward beyond the cover member, and whereinthe extensional marginal portion is configured to extend up to aposition adjacent to the bulging portion.
 11. The seat according toclaim 7, wherein the extensional marginal portion is configured toextend from a front side of the periphery of the cover body up to orfarther beyond the front end portion of the pad body.
 12. The seataccording to claim 1, wherein the pad body includes a first body portionand a second body portion, the second body portion being providedbetween the first body portion and the cover member, the second bodyportion being laid over an upper surface of the first body portion, andthe second body portion having a front end portion extending downward.13. The seat according to claim 12, wherein the first body portionincludes a front end portion, the front-side stepped portion beingprovided at the front end portion of the first body portion, and whereinthe front end portion of the second body portion is in contact with theupward-facing contact surface that is disposed frontward of thefront-side stepped portion of the first body portion.
 14. The seataccording to claim 12, wherein the front end portion of the second bodyportion is laid over the front-side stepped portion.
 15. The seataccording to claim 1, wherein the front end portion of the cover memberextends downward over the front-side stepped portion.
 16. The seataccording to claim 1, wherein the cover member is bent downward to coverthe front-side stepped portion with the front end portion of the covermember.
 17. A seat, comprising: a seat cushion pad having an air passageformed inside and an air vent formed at an upper surface thereof, theseat being configured to allow air to flow through the air passage andthe air vent, wherein the seat cushion pad includes a pad body and acover member, the pad body having an upward-facing surface portion, thecover member being disposed over the pad body to form the air passagebetween the pad body and the cover member, the air vent being formed inthe cover member, and the cover member is bent to have a front endportion thereof extending downward to cover a frontward-facing surfaceof the pad body with the front end portion of the cover member, the padbody includes a front-side stepped portion located at a front endportion of the pad body, the pad body having an upward-facing contactsurface that is disposed frontward of the front-side stepped portion andlower in level than the upward-facing surface portion of the pad body,and the downward-extending front end portion of the cover member isdisposed to cover the front-side stepped portion, and has a lower end incontact with the upward-facing contact surface.